The Holy Father referenced in his encyclical about AI--an expert (if unintentional) troll of tech billionaires who keep misinterpreting the series. Nobody was surprised that Pope Leo XIV cited well-known saints and previous pontiffs in his first encyclical, or papal letter of spiritual guidance,, released Monday. But the name that immediately jumped out to many readers is one synonymous with high fantasy literature: J.R.R. Tolkien, the Catholic author of . Leo's letter is concerned with "safeguarding the human person in the time of artificial intelligence," a major theme of his first year as leader of the Catholic Church. Drawing from his predecessor, Pope Francis, he warns of "the growing dominance of a technocratic paradigm," one capable of "reducing creation to an object of exploitation and human beings to mere cogs in a system driven toward ever greater efficiency."

Graham Platner, Maine's presumptive Democratic Senate nominee, embraced democratic socialism at a Bernie Sanders rally, condemning Sen. Susan Collins and U.S. support for Israel.

Things to Do in L.A. Tap to enable a layout that focuses on the article. Tech leaders funding Matt Mahan's campaign for California governor say it's not about tech This is read by an automated voice. Please report any issues or inconsistencies here . San José Mayor Matt Mahan's late-entry bid for California governor has been supercharged by millions from Silicon Valley billionaires. Critics say that will make Mahan beholden to Big Tech if he wins, but several of his funders from the tech sector said their backing isn't about deregulation or favors, but Mahan's centrist focus on crime, homelessness, housing and education.

The bitter feud between Elon Musk and OpenAI boss Sam Altman has raged for years, but has mostly played out online in the form of accusations, counter-accusations and jibes. But starting on Tuesday, the beef between the two tech billionaires will shift to a much higher-profile forum: a federal courtroom in California, where their row will be the focus of a month-long trial. Being considered is Musk's claim that Altman - with whom he founded OpenAI - has swindled him out of millions of dollars and reneged on the ChatGPT-maker's original non-profit mission. Musk and Altman themselves will be among those to testify in a case in which the future of AI could be at stake. And while one will presumably emerge the winner, it's plausible that neither will emerge from the saga unscathed.

The tech titans are slated to duke it out in court. The tech titans are slated to duke it out in court. Musk and Altman's bitter feud over OpenAI to be laid bare in court Tesla chief believes Altman broke company's founding agreement - and legal battle promises to be explosive T he bitter rivalry between two of the tech world's most powerful men arrives in court this week, as Elon Musk's lawsuit against Sam Altman and OpenAI heads to trial in Oakland, California. The case is set to feature some of the biggest names in Silicon Valley, and its outcome could affect the course of the AI boom. Musk's suit, filed in 2024, focuses on the formative years of OpenAI when he, Altman and others co-founded the artificial intelligence company as a nonprofit with a grand purpose.

Support journalism that doesn't flinch . Support journalism that doesn't flinch . Elon Musk leaves a meeting with House Republicans in the basement of the US Capitol building on March 5, 2025 in Washington, DC. Get your news from a source that's not owned and controlled by oligarchs. Tennessee teenagers are suing Elon Musk's company xAI over allegations that its artificial intelligence tool Grok undressed photos of them as minors--the latest challenge against the wealthiest living person's chatbot .

Guests including Mark Zuckerberg, Lauren Bezos, Jeff Bezos, Sundar Pichai and Elon Musk, arrive before the 60th presidential inauguration in the rotunda of the US Capitol in Washington on 20 January 2025. Guests including Mark Zuckerberg, Lauren Bezos, Jeff Bezos, Sundar Pichai and Elon Musk, arrive before the 60th presidential inauguration in the rotunda of the US Capitol in Washington on 20 January 2025. From Gates to Musk and Altman, today's ultra-rich steer AI and tech, raising questions about who decides the future When Bill Gates became the first modern IT mogul to reach the apex of wealth and power in 1992, the world was a very different place. Gates joined the top 10 on Forbes magazine's billionaires list alongside Japanese, German, Canadian, South Korean and Swedish billionaires, including those with family fortunes from Britain and America. A broad mix of industries was on the list: Retail and media, property management and packaging, an investment firm and a couple of industrial conglomerates.

Tech's politics push at home and abroad We report from California's Silicon Valley, where billionaires pour money into midterms, and the AI Impact summit, where India pushes back on'AI monopoly' held by US and China This week, we're examining the tech industry's push for influence in two places separated by a time difference of 13 hours and 30 minutes. The first is where tech sees its next big market, the second its home turf. My colleague Robert Booth reports from last week's India AI Impact summit, where tech companies pledged to spend tens of billions in the coming year to build customer bases and datacenters in the subcontinent. Dara Kerr and Lauren Gambino reported from Silicon Valley, where billionaires are marshalling their wealth to influence California's politics at greater levels than they ever have before. Visitors explore the Google pavilion during the AI Impact summit at Bharat Mandapam in New Delhi, India, on 20 February.

Things to Do in L.A. Tap to enable a layout that focuses on the article. Bernie Sanders kicks off billionaires tax campaign with choice words for the'oligarchs' Sen. Bernie Sanders speaks Wednesday night at the Wiltern at the formal kickoff of the campaign for the California billionaires tax. This is read by an automated voice. Please report any issues or inconsistencies here . Populist Sen. Bernie Sanders on Wednesday formally kicked off the campaign to place a billionaires tax on the November ballot, framing the proposal as something larger than a debate about economic and tax policy as he appeared at a storied Los Angeles venue.

Emmanuel Macron told delegates at the AI summit: 'Europe is not blindly focused on regulation.' Emmanuel Macron told delegates at the AI summit: 'Europe is not blindly focused on regulation.' Macron defends EU AI rules and vows crackdown on child'digital abuse' Emmanuel Macron has hit back at US criticism of Europe's efforts to regulate AI, vowing to protect children from "digital abuse" during France's presidency of the G7. Speaking at the AI Impact summit in Delhi, the French president called for tougher safeguards after global outrage over Elon Musk's Grok chatbot being used to generate tens of thousands of sexualised images of children, and amid mounting concern about the concentration of AI power in a handful of companies. His remarks were echoed by António Guterres, the UN secretary general, who told delegates - including several US tech billionaires - that "no child should be a test subject for unregulated AI". "The future of AI cannot be decided by a few countries or left to the whims of a few billionaires," Guterres said. "AI must belong to everyone".